Delivery and conveying mechanism



Jan. 24, 1928. 1,656,909

E. A. DEWEY DELIVERY AND CONVEYING MEGHANISM Filed March 6. 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 24, 1928.

E. A. DEWEY DELIVERY AND CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed March 6. 192;; 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Enigma Jan. 24, 1928.

E. A. DEWEY DELIVERY AND CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed March 6, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l l ins O Snow W01 o 2 Z t Jan. "24,192.

E. A. DEWEY DELIVERY AND CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed March 6. 1923 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Jan. 24, 19.28.

UNITED star ELLSW'ORTH A. DEW'EY, OF MIAMI, FLOEEIDA.

DELIVERY AND CONVEYING MECHANISM.

Application filed March 6, 1923. Serial No. 623,172.

This invention relates to mechanism for handling blocks, and is designed particularly, though not necessarily, to be use-d in connection with block making machines of the character disclosed in my atent No. 1,346,640 of July 13, 1920; having for its gene a1 ob ject to provide means wholly automatic in operation for receiving the blocks as they are discharged from the forms or molds, cooling the blOC-liS, and delivering themIto a predetermined destination. v

Vi ith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, all as will be described fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

in the drawings 2- s Figure 1, a side elevation, parts broken away, of a delivery and conveying mechanism constructed according to the invention; the parts of the delivery or transfer mechanism being in the position they will assume when ready to receive a tray;

Figure 2, is a similar View showing the parts of the transfer mechanism in the position they will assume when the tray has moved fully into the receiver and ust prior to the tilting or transfer of the latter,

Figure 8, is a similar view, (the mold conveyor being omitted) showing the receiver in the act of delivering the mold tray to the lower conveyor.

Figure 4, is a sectional view taken substantially upon line l l of Figure 3,

Figure 5, is a plan view of the receiver,

Figure 6, is a sectional" view on line 66 of Figure 5, I

Figure '7, is a sectional viewon line 7--7 of Figure 5,

Figure 8, is a plan view of one of the conveyors, the belt being removed,

Figure 9, is a detail fragmentary side elevation showing the manner in which motion is transmitted from one conveyor to the other,

Figure 10, is a mold trays. p

Figure 11, is a sectional vi it taken on l ne 11 11 of Figure 10, l V Figure 12, is a front elevation of the trays, i s

Figure 13, is a front elevation of a mold having one ofthe trays arranged thereon,

Figure 14, is a front elevation of a conplan view of one of the one of necting stand for the adjacent ends of the conveyors,

Figure 15, is a side elevation, parts in section, of the cooling conveyor constituting a part of the invention, and Figure 16, is a plan view of the device shown in Figure 1 In my above identified patent, there is illustrated and described a block making machine embodying means operating in a step by step manner for treating plastic mass and forming thereof complete and properly compressed blocks to be used for building or paving purposes; all of the important steps or operations being performed by instrunientalities wholly automatic in operation. T he forms or molds used in carrying the invention into effect are arranged upon an end less conveyor which passes over pulleys or sprockets at the ends of the supporting frame, and the molds in passing in arcs around these sprockets at the delivery end of the machine open sufliciently to permit the blocks to drop out. As stated before, the mechanism operates in a step by step manner, and the mold conveyor comes to a stop at certain predetermined intervals topermit the various mechanisms to properly and com: pletely function. At each halt of the con- Veyor, one of the molds carried thereby is in delivery position; in other words the mold is inverted and the mold sides open to their limit to permit the blocks in the mold to drop out. It is found desirable to provide means of an automatic nature to receive the blocks as they are delivered from the molds and trans port them to a place convenient for use, storage or handling, and it is also desiredto permit the blocks to cool or become setlto a more or less degree during this transportar tion. F or these purposes, a series of conveyors may be employed, each of which coinprises a unit and the various unitsare to be constructed and arranged in such manner as to pass the blocks from one to another in an orderly manner without dropping or breaking them and without shaking them to such degree as would likely cause their in jury. It willbe understoodthat. any desired number of these conveyor units may be used,

Themeans for transferring the completed blocks from the molds to the conveyors oper- V ates at a time when the moldis inactive and must complete its functions'before the next (iii , the said conveyor units.

filled mold arrives at the delivery stage. This transferring mechanism includes a tilta-ble receiver which allows a block supporting tray carried by the mold to pass into it, whereupon, at the proper time, the tray is unlocked and released. from the mold and rests in the receive' and the weight of the tray and blocks imbalances the receiver and -auses the latter to move downwardly so as to deposit the tray and its contents upon one of the conveyor units. As soon as the tray passes from the receiver, the latter, thus. relieved of its burden, resumes its normal position, or at such angle as to receive the next mold tray. This mechanism must so operate as not to drop the tray or subject it to shocks of such severity as to deform or break the blocks carried thereby.

Referring to the drawings, 15 indicates the frame of the block machine, 16 the sprocket shailitat the delivery end of the frame, 17 the sprockets carried by the shaft, IS the chain constitutingthemold conveyor, and 1.9 the molds arranged in spaced relation upon the conveyor and having pivoted end members 20 which swing outwardly as shown when the molds pass around the are of the sprockets. Each mold isdivided into two compartments, each of which contains a block, so that two complete blocks are delivered at one operation.

The conveyor which receives the articles delivered from the molds is indicated generally at 21, and comprises a frame formed of parallel side rails 22 of angle iron or other suitable material which are connected or braced by the plates 23. The rails at their ends carry bearings 2a for the pulley shafts; the conveyor pulleysbeing indicated at 26. The bearings may be adjustable if desired to properly tension the conveyor belt 27, which, it will be understood, passes around the pulleys. The frame is provided at proper intervals with idler rollers 28 to supportthe belt in its working and return movements, the said rollers being journaled in bearings upon the opposing f 'ame rails.

The adjoining ends ofthe conveyor units rest in frames or cradles such as illustrated in Figures 1 and l l. These frames rest upon the ground and extend iliroin one conveyor end to the other, the side plates 29 ot the said frames supporting the shafts25 oi. These sidcplates are each provided with spaced depressed portions 30, in which rest collars 31 constituting bearings for the shafts 25. These shafts at the adjoining ends of the conveyor units are each equipped with sprockets 32, over which pass a sprocket chain 33 to cause the movement of one conveyor to be developed in the other, Power is applied to one of the conveyors by means of chain and sprocket, belt and whey or gearing as de- Sil'ed; in the present instance a beit pulley Ell is shown atlixed to one of the shafts 25 of the conveyor nearest the block making ma chine Figure to receive a belt continuously driven by asuitable power source.

It is obvious from this construction that power in'iparted to sha'lt. 25 through a belt passed over pulley 3-1l will cauf-c the conveyor belt supported by pulleys 26 to travel, and articles deposited upon this belt will be carriedv to the far end thereof. The power developed in this conveyor unit will be transmitted to the next adjacent unit by means of the sprocket and chain construction above described, and in a. like manner all of the conveyor units may be driven. The adjoining ends of the conveyors are placed together sullicicutly close to cause the articles carried by the conveyors to be passed from one to the other. These con veyor members may be made of uniform length or they may vary in size as desired, and the conveyors may be laid in a horizontal planeor may be inclined as pre'li'crred.

As it is one purpose of the invention to provide means for cooling the. blocks or causing them to become set before they reach their destinations, a cooling compartment or section is arranged in the conveyor flight; preferably to follow the conveyor. that receives the blocks from the molding machine. This cooler section is illustrated in Figures 15 and 16 oi. the drawings, and comprises a tank (50, of proper size to be filled with water or other cooling or treating element and into whiclrthe blocks pass in their travel away from the molding machine. The tank is arranged directly in the line of travel of the blocks, and is provided at its ends with drive pulleys or rollers (ll operatively connected as by chains 33 with the drive pulleys of the next adjacent sec.- tions. The block supporting belt for this section is indicated at 62, and passes down into the tank as shown, and sullicii-intly loose to permit of the blocks carried thereby to become submerged or immersed in the fiuid contained in the tank. The belt passes from one to the other of the drive pulleys or rollers; being supported within the tank by the idlers (33 near the bottom thercol; and then passes entirely around the tank from end to end, engaging and being guided in its travel. by pulleys or rollers (bl-ti l. The intt-n'ior ot' the tank provided with aprons or guide plates 66 one of said plates being arranged at each end oi? the tank a. support the belt andits blocks, as it passes into and out ofthe tank. These plates incline at suchangle as to prevent-such sudden or precipitate movement of the laden belt into and out of the tank as to cause disturbas at 67, so that no obstruction will be otfered the belt in passing oil of or onto the plates,

ing from the sides of trays 43.

, forwardly The means thus provided affords a practical and eflicient cooling means for the blocks in their travel, and while I have described this section as following the first or receiving flight of conveyors, it will be understood that its position in the delivery mechanism is not limited to this particular location, for it may be arrangedat such place as to produce the best practical results.

The transferring device for transporting the blocks from the molds to the conveyors comprises a tiltable receiver in the form of a frame This frame includes parallel side members 36 formed preferably of angle iron, spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the mold 19. These side members near their rear ends are provided with upstanding bearing blocks 37 to receive the supporting shaft 38 aflixedat its ends in blocks carried by angle beams 39 depending from the frame of the blockmaking machine. Wei 'hts l at or near the extreme rear end of the receiver cause the forward end of the latter to be normally raised or in position to receive articles delivered from the molds. i

Each of the molds is provided upon its sides and intermediate its ends with outwardly projecting pins or studs ll, to be engaged by hook shaped members 42 projecthese trays are a trifle wider than the molds and are considerably longer and are thus capable of sliding longitudinally upon the saidmolds and snugly fitting the open ends thereof. When a tray is positioned ininverted position over a mold and slid to its limit in one direction, the downwardly extending hook shaped members engage with the studs 41 whereby the tray is looked upon the mold with its forward end projecting beyond the corresponding end of themold. Thetrays are placed upon the moldsin this manner when the latter are at rest in-a stage preceding the delivery stage. c u j j As the conveyor 18 advances the mold, the projecting end of the tray 43 moves into theforward end of the uptilted receiver frame and between the side members 36 thereof. Just prior to the arrival of the mold at the delivery stage, the forward end of the tray engages spring pressed plungers 44 mounted in suitable supports 45 on the receiver and causes them to move rearwardly. The rear extremitiesof these plungers are connected to the outer ends of the levers 46, the latter pivoted intermediate their ends as at 47, to one of the supports 45, and the inner ends of these levers are connected to a link 48 attachedto a latch member 49. This latch member is pivoted as at 50 to a suitable support held by the depend ing angle members 39 and normally has its operative end disposed in the path of a stop member 51 carried by the rear end of the receiver, whereby thedownward swinging movement of the receiver is, under normal conditions,limited-. ,lVhen the forwardend tray, as shown in FigureQ. As the mold approaches the .dehverystage the forward end ofthe tray, reaching the forward abutmentl5, is held and the-continued slight movement of the moldcauses the studs ll to pass from within the hooked members 4-2 of the tray, as shown in Figure 2. The mold ends atthis inverted stage are in extended position so that the blocks may pass out. The weight of the blocks and tray upon the forward end ofthe receiver frame causes the latter to overbalanee, whereupon the forward end. of thereceiver moves downwardly so as to place the tray upon the conveyor belt. The side members of the receiver frame, being spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the belt, straddle the belt and allow the tray to rest firmly upon the same. The tray thus, deposited upon the belt is moved out of the receiver and it and its contents is passed from unit to unit until. it reaches its destination. The side rails of the receiver at their forward ends are pro vided with rollers 52 which engage the bottom of the trayand facilitate its removal from the receiver.

of the receiver, the latter is released to the influence of weights 40 and the forward end ofthe receiver at once rises; The latch mechanism, however, is released as the tray moves away and becomes operative to limit the upward movement of the receiver. The latch mechanism, it providedfor the purpose of maintaining the receiver in such position normally as to per, mit theforward end ofthe tray to enter the receiver without engaging the same until in proper position for delivery.

From the foregong it is obvious that-I have provided means of a simple and etlicient nature for automatically delivering the blocks from the molds to the conveyors without danger of injuring the blocks in such transfer, and for cooling the blocks in their iVhen the tray moves oif the forward end will be understood, is

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travel away from the molding machine, and 7 while the present is a disclosure of the invention in its preferred embodiment, I reserve the right to make such changes or alterations in the mechanism. the arrangement of conveyor sections, or its details as may be found expedient without departing from the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. A bloclr handling apparatus, a carrier having a mold; a tiltable frame adapted to receive articles delivered from said mold, the said frame tending normally to'move toward the mold, latch mechanism limiting such movement, and means operable prior to the delivery operation to release said latch mechanism.

2. A block handling apparatus, a carrier having a mold, a tray adapted to receive the mold contents, a receiver for the tray, and means operable when the tray is properly positioned in the receiver to release the tray from the mold.

3. A bloclrhandling apparatus, a carrier having a mold, a tray fitting upon said mold and adapted to recelve the mold content-5,2 conveyor, and means operating automatically when the mold reaches a predetermined position to transfer the tray and its "contents to said conveyor.

l. A block handling apparatus, a mold, laterally projecting members upon the mold. a tray 'slidable upon said mold and adapted to receive and support the contents of the latter, latch members on the tray adapted to engage with the said projecting members when the tray is slid in one direction, and means automatically moving the tray in the reverse direction when the mold has reached a predetermined position.

A block handling apparatus,a mold, a tray slidable upon said mold and adapted to receive the contents of the latter, coop crating locking members upon the mold and tray engageable when the tray is moved to its limit upon the mold in one direction, and means operable when the mold has reached a predetermined position to slide the tray and disengage said locking members.

6. A block handling apparatus, a movable mold a tray removably mounted upon said mold and adapted to receive the contents of the latter,.a receiverpivoted adjacent to the path of travelof the mold, a stop upon said receiver to beengaged by the tray during the movement of the said mold, and cooperating locking members upon the mold and tray adapted to be disengaged upon movement of the mold after the said tray has "encountered the stop, whereby the said tray and the mold contents Wlll be delivered. to

the said receiver.

7. A block handling apparatus, a mold adapted to travel in an arc, a tray slidable upon said mold, cooperating hacking members upon said tray and mold adapted normally to hold the tray secured upon the said mold, a tilting receiver in the path of movement of the tray, a stop on said receiver to be engaged by the said tray to hold the latter while the said mold moves away from it, a

latch maintaining the receiver normally against movement in one direction, levers connected with said latch, spring pressed plungers engageable by said tray prior to the contact of the latter with the said step, and the said plungers being connected with said levers, whereby the latch will be released by the said tray;

8. In" a device of the class described, a tiltable receiver adapted to receive a mold tray and to swing downwardly, a ccianveyor beneath said receiver, and the said receiver being of the greater Width than the conveyor whereby to straddle the latter.

9. In a device of the class described, a tilt able receiver adapted to receive a mold tray, a latch normally maintaining the receiver against movement in one direction, a pair of levers on said receiver, a linlr connecting the latch with. the levers, plungers slidably mounted on the receiver andadaptcd to be engaged and moved by said tray, the said plnngers being connected to said levers, and springs normally maintaining said plungers extended; 7 i i 10. In a device of the class described, a plnralityof conveyor frames each having side rails, pulleys at the ends of said frames, a belt passing around the pulleys o't each frame, rollers on thesaid frames to support said belt, sprockets on the pulleys at the adjacent ends of the said frames, chains passing over said sprockets, and means for driving one of said belts.

In testimony whereof aliix my signature.

ELLSWORTH A, DEXVEY. 

